Good morning, Quiet Corner Swarm!
Today is September 22, the Autumnal Equinox, which means fall has officially arrived. The days are getting shorter, the leaves are getting louder, and cider donut season is now fully justified.
Let’s get into this week’s Buzz. 🍂
-Tyler DiGiovanni
P.S. We’ve got a few events coming up around Hartford County, and I figured some of you might want to join us. More on those below!
GAB’S FAMOUS APPLE SQUARES 🍎
Last week I shared our local apple guide, and it got me thinking about my favorite way to put those apples to work.
My late grandmother, who we lovingly called Gab, made the best apple squares this world has ever seen. Fight me. They disappeared almost as quickly as she could make them.
Gab never measured too carefully. She used thick-cut apples, plenty of cinnamon and vanilla, pats of butter over the filling, and glaze poured on while the crust was still warm. I know she’d get a kick out of me sharing her recipe with all of you.
Ingredients
Crust: 6 cups + 6 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 cups cold shortening and ¾–1⅛ cups cold water.
Filling: 24 cups peeled apples sliced ⅓-inch thick, 1–1½ cups sugar, ¾ cup flour, 3 tablespoons cinnamon, 1½ teaspoons nutmeg, ⅜ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon vanilla and 6 tablespoons butter. Mix tart varieties like Honeycrisp, Granny Smith and McIntosh.
Glaze: 3–4 cups confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons softened butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and a little milk as needed.
Directions: Make and chill the pastry, then roll half into a rimmed cookie sheet. Add the apple mixture, place thin slices of butter on top and cover with the remaining pastry. Cut vents and bake at 425°F until golden and bubbling, checking after about 35 minutes. Let it cool until warm, then pour the glaze over the top.
Fair warning: Gab eyeballed everything. Good luck!
FROM ITALY TO CT
When owners Anna and Davide moved here from Italy, they brought their family traditions with them. Anna learned to make cavatelli from her grandmother on the Amalfi Coast, and today they use those generations-old techniques and top-quality Italian ingredients at More Italian Pasta Lab. On October 13 at 6:30 PM, just 14 guests will mix, knead and shape fresh cavatelli before enjoying Pasta alla Bolognese and homemade chocolate cake. You’ll also head home with your handmade pasta. Tickets are $110, and once those 14 spots are gone, they’re gone.
Almost half the seats are already gone for our hands-on cocktail class at Hartford Flavor Company Distillery on Wednesday, September 30 at 6:30 PM.
Your $75 ticket includes a welcome drink, a second cocktail, a hands-on lesson where you’ll make your own drink, recipes and batching instructions to take home, a behind-the-scenes distillery tour, charcuterie, and three chicken tacos.
Come with friends, bring a date, or show up on your own. This is a 21+ event at 30 Arbor St. #107 in Hartford, and a valid photo ID is required.
We only have 20 spots left, and once they’re gone, registration closes.
DATE THE RATE, MARRY THE HOME? READ THIS FIRST
You’ve probably heard this phrase, but there’s an important catch: only buy a home if the payment works for you today. As of September 17, the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.95%, according to Freddie Mac. Your actual Connecticut rate will depend on factors including credit, income, loan type, and down payment.
Rates may fall, but refinancing later is never guaranteed. You’ll need to qualify again, and a new loan can come with closing costs.
Before refinancing, calculate your break-even point:
Total refinancing costs ÷ monthly savings = months needed to break even
If refinancing costs $6,000 and saves $200 per month, it takes 30 months to recover the expense. Also compare the new loan’s total interest and term, not just the monthly payment.
Want to see what buying now could look like for you? Book an appointment to review your numbers and possible refinancing scenarios.
BUZZ GAMES🤔
Buzz Games' September crown is up for grabs - and it's tight. LMDIWW (Hartford) leads with 772 points, but KOR2026 (Farmington) and YIKES (Columbia) are within 60, and a perfect week is worth 300. New Buzzword and BuzzEye drop now!
Play at hive.connecticutbuzz.com and put your town on the board.
BUZZWORTHY ACTIVITY: CELEBRATE MANSFIELD
Downtown Storrs is taking over the street this Saturday for the 23rd Celebrate Mansfield Festival. From 2–8 PM, expect local food, music, activities, and plenty happening throughout downtown, before New York’s all-women salsa orchestra Lulada Club closes the night from 6:30–8 PM. It’s completely free. Celebrate!
CLEAVELAND’S QUIET CORNER ROOTS
Around 54% got it right on last week’s trivia question asking which Windham County town was the birthplace of Moses Cleaveland: Canterbury! Born there in 1754, Cleaveland led the 1796 expedition that surveyed the land where Cleveland, Ohio, would be founded. His team named the settlement “Cleaveland” in his honor, but he returned to Connecticut that same year and never went back. See the full story.
BUZZ & TELL
🐶Adopt-a-pal: Meet Buzz, an 8-month-old Lab mix who loves toys, treats, other dogs and curling up in the nearest available lap. 🐝
🏡House of the week: This 5-bedroom, 3-bath farmhouse packs 3,643 square feet of character, blending a 1934 original with wide-plank floors, knotty pine ceilings and a double-sided fireplace. Outside, 16 acres bring two ponds, pasture, a barn, guest house, workshop and enough room for horses, peacocks and a duck. Take a look inside
🔭Sky report: Saturday night brings the full Harvest Moon, rising in the east around 6:30 PM. Look just below it for Saturn glowing like a bright yellow star. No telescope needed for this one, just a clear view of the eastern sky. 🌕
THE BUZZ JOB BOARD
WHO’S HIRING IN THE QUIET CORNER? Local roles worth knowing about this week:
Warehouse Associate | Uline | Plainfield — Pick and pack orders to provide same-day shipping. View the opening & apply →
Recruiter | Uline | Plainfield — Support staffing Uline's new facility and grow a high-performing team. View the opening & apply →
Highway Maintainer | Town of Thompson | Thompson — Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, and rights-of-way. View the opening & apply →
Volunteer | Access | Willimantic/Danielson — Help with tasks like mailings, organizing food banks, and more. View openings & apply →
Hiring or Job Hunting? Email us
BEE LINE EVENTS
TUESDAY (9/22)
Thompson | Fort Hill Farms Corn Maze | 9 AM-9 PM $ - This year's maze is cut in the shape of the Betsy Ross flag for the America 250 anniversary. Open daily. Explore! (Runs through Sept 28.)
Willimantic | Family Fun Night | 5:30 PM - Windham Parks & Rec throws open Jillson Square for the evening. Play!
WEDNESDAY (9/23)
Chaplin | Chaplin Ukulele Band: 250 Years of Music | 5:30-6:30 PM - The town's ukulele band plays the songs that shaped America, with refreshments from the Friends of the Library. Listen!
Putnam | Trivia at Bear Hands Brewing | 6 PM - Weekly brain-stretch in the lounge. Play!
Vernon | Bingo at Rocking Horse | 7 PM - Weekly dabbers-out in the smokehouse bar room. Play!
Willimantic | Tavern Night with Thomas Jefferson | 5 PM $ - The Windham Historical Society's monthly dinner with a famous dead guest — this month the third president brings his favorite food and drink. $10. Explore!
THURSDAY (9/24)
Killingly | Trivia at Black Pond Brews | 7 PM - Best Trivia Ever hosts, top three teams take prizes. Play!
Mansfield | Sketching at Atwood Farm | 10 AM-12 PM $ - Week two of the Line Art Studio course, pencils out among the pastures. Create!
Tolland | Mini Tote Patch Workshop | 6 PM $ - Patch and personalize a tote at Red & White. Create!
Tolland | To Build a Pollinator Garden | 6:30-7:30 PM - What to plant so the bees actually show up. Learn!
Vernon | Acoustic Songs & Shenanigans with Devon Wallace | 5 PM - A sing-along evening at Rockville Public Library. Sing!
Willimantic | Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration | 4 PM - Music, food and culture on Valley Street. Celebrate!
FRIDAY (9/25)
Ashford | Crookes Night Pick | 6:30-9 PM $ - Candlelit apple picking and dahlia cutting with a live violinist in the orchard. $20 a car, cash at the gate. Explore!
Brooklyn | Harvest & Harmony Farm Dinner | 5:30 PM $ - A long-table dinner in the field at Little Dipper Farm. $125, and it sells out. Cook!
Mansfield | Chair in the Square | 10 AM-1 PM - Pull up a seat in Betsy Paterson Square. Gather!
Putnam | Giuliano | 8-11 PM - Grit-and-sensitivity rock and roll at The Stomping Ground. Rock!
Somers | Johnny and the Flashbacks | 6:30-9:30 PM - Live at Joanna's. Rock!
Storrs | Pat Metheny: Side-Eye III+ | 8 PM $ - The jazz guitar giant opens Jorgensen's season. $45-$50. Listen!
Voluntown | Friday Night Music: The Tug Hollow Rock Band | 5:30 PM $ - Local rock in the pub at Tamarack Lodge. $10. Rock!
Willimantic | The Kris Allen Quartet | 7:30 PM $ - Jazz in The River Room's 65-seat listening room. Listen!
SATURDAY (9/26)
Bolton | St. George's 50th Craft & Harvest Fair | 9 AM-3 PM - Half a century of crafters, bakers and harvest tables at the Episcopal church on Route 44. Shop!
Canterbury | Old Home Day: Canterbury Roots, American Spirit | 9 AM-3 PM - Re-enactors, historic trades, farm animals and handmade goods take over the town green. Rain or shine. Celebrate!
Columbia | HWP PTO Designer Purse Bingo | 5 PM $ - Dab your way to a handbag at the Congregational church. Play!
Hampton | Hampton Harvest Festival | 10 AM-3 PM - The Fletcher Library's big one: 10:30 pet parade, hayrides at 11 and 1, goats, apple crisp, bagpipes and guitarist Rick Lovallo. Free parking. Celebrate!
Mansfield | CT Underwater Adventure Puppet Pageant | afternoon - The giant puppets the Ballard Institute has been building all month finally parade. Watch!
Plainfield | Rickie Louise Miller Live | 1 PM - Rescheduled acoustic set on Norwich Road. Listen!
Pomfret | Poets at Large: Frederick Douglass Knowles II | 7-9 PM $ - Hartford's poet laureate with Aeroelastic Flutter at the Vanilla Bean. $10. Read!
Stafford Springs | Stafford AppleFest | 11 AM-4 PM - Cider pressing, chainsaw carving by KatCarves, The Natural Disasters on stage, and pie-eating, apple-peeling and donut-on-a-string contests down Main Street. New this year: a car and tractor show. Free. Celebrate!
Sterling | Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm Corn Maze | 11 AM-6 PM $ - Get lost in the corn, then get ice cream. Explore! (Runs through Sept 27.)
Storrs | Terry Fator: Pure Imagination | 8 PM $ - The America's Got Talent ventriloquist and his suitcase of characters at Jorgensen. $50-$65. Laugh!
Thompson | Annual Book Sale & Quilt Raffle | 10 AM-1 PM $ - Fill a bag for $3 at the Friends of the Thompson Public Library sale, with a quilt on the raffle table. Shop!
Thompson | Heads of State — Live from the Green | 7-10 PM - Selena Wilson and Sean Finnerty play American folk and '60s hits outside Raceway Restaurant. Listen!
Thompson | National Alpaca Farm Days | 11 AM-4 PM - Morning Beckons Farm opens the paddocks for its tenth year. Explore! (Runs through Sept 27.)
Vernon | Fall Festival at First Congregational | 8:30 AM - Tag sale, mum sale and bake sale on Hartford Turnpike. Shop!
Vernon | Watercolor Workshop: Watering Can | 9 AM $ - Paint a watering can, take it home. Create!
Voluntown | National Alpaca Farm Days | 10 AM - Beach Pond Road opens its barn for the weekend. Explore! (Runs through Sept 27.)
Willimantic | New Ground Benefit Concert with Mindset | 5-10 PM $ - Five hours of live music for a cause at the Elks Lodge. Rock!
Woodstock | Autumnal Equinox & Full Moon Gathering | 3:30-7 PM - Four hosts, one fire, and the turn of the season on Route 197. Celebrate!
Woodstock | Taylor Brooke Winery Artisan Festival | 12-5 PM - Third annual artisan festival on the winery grounds. Rain or shine. Shop!
Woodstock | Woodstock Shop Hop | all day - Two days of hopping between the town's independent shops. Shop! (Runs through Sept 27.)
SUNDAY (9/27)
Killingly | Barnyard & Best Friends Vendor Fair | 11 AM-3 PM - Hay Burr Inn's vendor fair and paint-your-pet workshop at 4G's Pizzeria in Dayville. Donation-based. Create!
Putnam | Paws 11th Annual Chicken BBQ | 5-6:30 PM $ - Half a chicken, baked potato, salad and a roll for $15, plus raffle baskets, benefiting Paws Cat Shelter. Dine in or take out. Cook!
Stafford Springs | Bosco Fowler Memorial 5K & Kids' Fun Run | registration 9 AM $ - The Rotary Club's annual run through Stafford Springs. Walk!
Storrs | UConn Homecoming Carnival | 2-6 PM - Rides, games and food on Founders Green. Free to enter. Celebrate!
Willimantic | BBQ & Concert for Ecole Agape | 12-5 PM - Free-will-donation barbecue and music at the Franco-American Civic & Social Club, benefiting a school in Haiti. Cook!
Willimantic | 18th Century Health and Medicinal Herbs | 4 PM - Take a trip back into history with Bev York at the Mill Museum.
Woodstock | Brits, Brews & Euros Too Car Show | 12:30-4:30 PM - British and European classics parked at Taylor Brooke Brewery. Watch!
MONDAY (9/28)
Somers | Trolleys in Connecticut: A Look Back | 6:30-8 PM - The state's lost trolley network, and where the tracks ran. Learn!
That’s it for this week’s Quiet Corner Buzz. If you got something out of it, please share it with someone who loves craft fairs!
See ya next week,
Tyler
